Recently we had the opportunity to frame and install an Alicia Tormey encaustic triptych for a private collector. To see more of Alicia's work, look here: https://www.aliciatormey.com
Tormey’s use of wax, pigment, and shellac is both calm and dynamic, lucid yet enigmatic. To best complement the piece, we designed a minimalist walnut float frame, only half an inch wide, with a flowing grain pattern and custom warm tones. The miters on such frames are always reinforced with splines as shown here.
Months later we were excited when Tormey asked us to make presentation boxes for two experimental pieces at her solo show at the Hall Spassov Gallery: http://hallspassov.com. These boxes were eight inches per side, allowing them to be made from single lengths of walnut board, cut and assembled so that the graining of the wood flowed uninterrupted across three of the four miters.
The interiors were oil-gilded with silver leaf and then hand-toned and sealed with amber shellac. The silver leaf acted almost like a mirror to softly diffuse and reflect light back into the pieces of art: hand-made “Specimens” encapsulated in glass jars. The overall effect, intimate in scope, is one of vibrant nostalgia and mystery.